Principal Investigators
Kaustubh K. Bawane
Idaho National Laboratory
kaustubh.bawane@inl.gov
Understanding molten salt corrosion mechanisms by analyzing salt-metal interfaces using advanced electron microscopy techniques including STEM-EDS, electron energy loss spectroscopy, precision electron diffraction, etc.
Vyacheslav Bryantsev
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
bryantsevv@ornl.gov
(865) 576-4272
Performing ab initio and classical molecular dynamics simulations to unravel structural, thermodynamic, and kinetic principles of ion-pairing and coordination that govern the chemistry of molten salts in bulk and liquid/solid interfaces.
Karen Chen-Wiegart
Stony Brook University,
Brookhaven National LaboratoryKaren.Chen-Wiegart@stonybrook.edu
(631) 632-4537
Understanding the interaction between molten salts and metallic materials, including the effects of impurities on corrosion phenomena with synchrotron X-ray microscopy and spectroscopy.
Jacy Conrad
Idaho National Laboratory
Jacy.Conrad@inl.gov
Participating in radiation chemical and redox experiments and developing computational models for the radiation chemistry and redox kinetics in molten salts that incorporate the experimentally-derived yields of primary radiolytic transients and their reactions.
Adrien Couet
University of Wisconsin-Madison
couet@wisc.edu
Studying materials degradation using state of the art characterization techniques and first principle modelling, as well as designing alloys using high-throughput experimentation and machine-learning based modelling.
Sheng Dai
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
dais@ornl.gov
(865) 576-7307
An internationally-recognized expert in molten salts and ionic liquids, Dai is coordinating the synthesis and characterization of molten salt systems and assisting in organizing Thrust I activities.
Anatoly Frenkel
Brookhaven National Laboratory,
Stony Brook Universityfrenkel@bnl.gov
(631) 344-3013
Investigating metal ion and nanoparticle speciation in molten salts and their structural, electronic and thermal properties using in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and machine learning methods.
Ruchi Gakhar
Idaho National Laboratory
Ruchi.Gakhar@inl.gov
Preparing and characterizing molten salt systems containing transition metals, lanthanides and actinides, and applying structural (X-ray) and spectroscopic (X-ray, UV-Vis and Raman) techniques to deduce metal ion speciation.
Simerjeet Gill
Brookhaven National Laboratory
gills@bnl.gov
(631) 344-5633
Studying corrosion at molten salt-metal interfaces in electrochemical environments using synchrotron-based diffraction and spectroscopy methods and performing multi-modal in-situ corrosion studies (XRF, DPC, CDI) with sample systems compatible with both the NSLS-II HXN beamline and ETEM at CFN.
David Grills
Brookhaven National Laboratory
dcgrills@bnl.gov
(631) 344-4332
Applying pulse radiolysis to investigate radiation-induced transient species in molten salt solutions, and developing IR detection methodologies for improved structural speciation of both steady-state and transient species in molten salts.
Gregory P. Holmbeck
Idaho National Laboratory
gregory.holmbeck@inl.gov
Conducting steady-state molten salt radiation chemistry experiments with and without the presence of actinide elements at INL and handling the manipulations for actinide-molten salt pulse radiolysis experiments at BNL’s LEAF facility.
Jay LaVerne
University of Notre Dame
laverne.1@nd.edu
(574) 631-5563
Examining the effects of radiation on molten salts and interfaces of molten salts with metals and metal oxides, using gamma rays and helium ions (the latter to mimic alpha particles).
Edward Maginn
University of Notre Dame
ed@nd.edu
(574) 631-5687
Using molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations to predict liquid structure as well as bulk thermodynamic and transport properties of molten salt systems, including force field development, algorithm design and execution of the simulations/analysis studies.
Shannon Mahurin
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
mahurinsm@ornl.gov
(865) 241-3417
Using spectroscopy, neutron and x-ray scattering to understand bulk molten salt structure, with a specific emphasis on pair distribution function analysis to examine intermediate and long-range order.
Claudio J. Margulis
University of Iowa
claudio-margulis@uiowa.edu
(319) 335-0615
Conducting classical and quantum molecular dynamics calculations with the objective of computing X-ray scattering spectra of molten salts, reactivity of excess charges, and calculations to describe the structure and dynamics of molten salts at interfaces.
Benjamin Ocko
Brookhaven National Laboratory
ocko@bnl.gov
(631) 344-4299
Applying synchrotron X-ray scattering methods to study molten salt interfaces and developing high temperature, molten salt surface X-ray scattering cells for these challenging experiments.
Santanu Roy
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
roys@ornl.gov
(865) 576-1753
Performing ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of molten salts to investigate their structural and dynamical properties in bulk and at interfaces, including the development and applications of reaction rate theory to examine ion-pairing and ion-exchange processes in molten salts.
Katsuyo Thornton
University of Michigan
kthorn@umich.edu
(734) 615-1498
Harnessing the power of high performance computing to elucidate physical mechanisms underlying microstructure formation and evolution in molten salt environment.
James Wishart
Brookhaven National Laboratory
wishart@bnl.gov
(631) 344-4327
Conducting pulse radiolysis kinetics measurements of reactions in molten salts, including the yields of primary radiolytic transients and their reactions with metal ion solutes, reactions between intermediate product species and the kinetics and redox energetics of nanoparticle formation
